At&t's U-verse Moving Forward

Ruling On Tv Boxes Viewed As Crucial

July 01, 2008|By LYNN DOAN; Courant Staff Writer

AT&T will announce today that it will make a $250 million investment in new equipment in Connecticut this year, an investment that might have been scrapped if not for a recent state ruling regarding utility boxes that deliver the company's new U-verse television service.

The equipment expenditure, which will strengthen cellphone reception, speed up wireless Internet connections and expand AT&T television service to new areas, hinged on a decision by the state Department of Public Utility Control over the 4-foot-long metal boxes used to distribute the U-verse service.

The large metal cabinets, most of which have been installed on utility poles by AT&T during the past two years, have been criticized for being ugly and obtrusive. State and local officials across the state have urged regulators to restrict or ban the "refrigerators strapped to sticks."

In a ruling it clarified last week, the DPUC said AT&T could continue installing the 1,000-pound boxes if it obtains the consent of abutting property owners and municipalities. It also granted AT&T some flexibility for the 2,000 boxes already in place, requiring only that the company collect retroactive consent from property owners who initially disputed the installations.

"If the [DPUC] had said something different," AT&T spokesman Dave Mancuso said, "[today's] announcement would not be coming out."

AT&T saw the DPUC ruling as a victory for U-verse, which has been fighting a politically charged battle that company officials have described as "an attempt from the cable industry to slow us down." Comcast and the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association, which represents cable providers, declined to comment for this story.

The DPUC's ruling, Mancuso said, created a "predictable enough environment" for AT&T to commit to the $250 million investment in infrastructure improvements, the largest investment the company has made in the state since 2005.

As part of its investment, the company plans to build 21 new cellphone antennas in the state this year that will, among other things, boost cellphone coverage in and around Foxwoods Resort Casino, nearby Ledyard and in the town of Hartland.

It also plans to expand the reach of U-verse, which is currently available in more than 80 cities and towns.U-verse, which competes with cable TV by using telephone lines to deliver hundreds of video channels and digital voice and Internet service, got off to a rocky start in Connecticut last year. The state attorney general and consumer counsel tried to force AT&T to offer the service to any interested household in a service municipality - a requirement of all cable companies.

The DPUC agreed, but a Superior Court judge in Hartford overruled the department last fall, allowing AT&T to operate under a new state law designed to promote cable competition and lower rates.

The company sees the opposition to its U-verse boxes, also known as Video-Ready Access Devices, as another roadblock.

Three municipalities, with the support of the attorney general and consumer counsel, called on the DPUC last year to investigate AT&T's method of installing the boxes. The company had been notifying abutting property owners and some municipalities before putting up the boxes but believed it had the right to install them without consent.

The DPUC ruled in late May that AT&T should retroactively request consent from property owners affected by boxes that were already installed. It clarified that opinion last week by saying the company should be required to provide notice and gain consent from adjoining property owners "only where such consent was contested."

"If this is another attempt to slow down our ability to compete, we're going to have to ask more questions," Mancuso had said of the controversy surrounding the boxes. "We're trying not to fan the political fires in the state, but we want to get on with rolling out this service."

A growing number of town and city officials say the fight is not political but is based on complaints that the boxes are eyesores, safety hazards and an inconvenience for road crews to work around.

Ken Hughes, president of Derby's board of aldermen, filed an opposition letter with the DPUC after he noticed one of the large, buzzing boxes at the entrance of his local park.

Therrien said the boxes "make the town look awful," taking up half the sidewalk space, attracting graffiti and posing a safety risk to pedestrians and drivers.

"What happens when someone gets into an accident, hits one of these poles and one of these boxes comes down on a car?" she asked. "That's going to be brutal."

The boxes, which can serve between 200 and 450 customers, are installed to reach the maximum number of households, an AT&T spokesman said. But the company is now sending a more detailed notification to property owners and municipalities and leaving open a 30-day window for complaints before installing each box.

In addition to its recent ruling, the DPUC is expected to issue a final decision about how or whether these boxes should be installed in the future.